Monday 6 May 2013

Busyness and lists



I just read this post by Pip about lists.

To do lists & time management.

I am not really a list person but it is something I am thinking i need to do!
My life is getting busier and busier despite me wanting it not to be that way.

I am not a fan of busy.

I am all about slowing down.

I worry a LOT about our growing admiration for 'busy'.  I don't think it is a good thing.

I guess for me most of my busyness is in relation to my 5 children and keeping up with their appointments & school things.  

Unavoidable really.

The home part of our life is scaled right back. No activities and LOTS of happy homey relaxey ways.

I think my reluctance to write lists is because it is an admittance of HOW busy I am.

I am pretty good at time management despite my no list style but I DO think I am going to give it a try. 

Thanks Pippy for helping me out!

Do you write lists?

Do they help you?

GOURMET GIRLFRIEND’S MOZZARELLA MEATBALLS:
Winter just calls for rich & delicious comfort food doesn’t it!
This recipe ticks both of those boxes but is also SUPER simple and is one that the kids can help with too.
Most kids are big fans of meatballs.
My recipe has a twist- an explosion of melty, gooey delish Mozzarella cheees in the middle.
I think your kids will LOVE it and I suspect you will love it too!
As with all recipes, the quality of your ingredients will affect the quality & taste of your dish.
Buy the best ingredients you can afford.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED:
  •        500g Organic beef mince
  •         500g Organic Pork mince
  •        1 organic egg
  •     4 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
  • ·      4 slices leftover bread~ (a great way to use some of your leftover No knead bread!)
  • ·      a handful of fresh oregano
  • ·      3 stalks of fresh thyme
  • ·      4 cloves of garlic
  • ·      2 cans Cherry tomatoes
  • ·      ¼ glass red wine
  • ·      a little Extra virgin Olive oil
  • ·      100g Mozzarella cheese, cut into 2 cm cubes, or use little bocconci balls &          break them into smaller pieces
  • ·      a little fresh basil

METHOD:
Preheat oven to 150C.

Put the bread, the herbs and 1 clove garlic into a food processor and blitz till you have a lovely fragrant breadcrumb mixture.

In a large bowl place the flavoured breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, the mince and the egg.

Mix really well with your hands- (my kids LOVE doing this, squelching it all through their fingers).

Take a chunk about the size of 2 tablespoons into the palm of your hand and roll into a ball.

Now stick your thumb into the middle and make a large cavity

Place a piece of Mozzarella into this cavity and then work the meat around to cover well.

Roll into a ball.

Do this with all the mixture. It will make about 20 balls.

Heat a non-stick fry pan to medium high heat and add a splosh of Olive oil.

Add about 5 balls at a time & brown the outside well. We are aiming just for colour here- they don’t need to be cooked through.

Place the browned meatballs onto an ovenproof dish.

Chop the remaining garlic and place into the dish with the meatballs.

Cover with the cans of Cherry tomatoes, the basil & a little drizzle of Olive oil and place into the preheated oven for an hour.

Serve on pasta, couscous or mashed potatoes.

Turn it up y'all & po your shimmy shoes on.....

5 comments:

  1. I used to be really good at keeping track of things too, but since I started juggling work, business and my family's activities, I found that I tended to forget things here and there. Currently on the lookout for a really good (and free!) project management app to see everything in a snapshot and delegate tasks as well. I know what you mean about making lists and it being a revelation of how busy you are. :) Activities of 5 kids, wow. Superwoman!

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  2. no..... we don't do activities! It is just school ( they are at 3 different locations!!)
    that is what I am saying!! I am a pretty loud advocate of no activities! We do music tuition (at home) and that is all!


    Re the programme management app- did you click on the link to pip's post? She mentions a few there!
    Good luck!

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  3. i love a list !! and i make a giant tennis ball size version of these meatballs - love the surprise centre ♥

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  4. meatballs are one of my fave dishes so these will be getting a go at my place!


    I am a massive list writer, I even have a notebook for all my lists. List making helps me feel in control & organised, which are very important for my headspace, even if I'm not really ;)

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hello Ruth,

    This post has really resonated with me. I'm not a fan of busy nor the expectation of claiming I'm so 'busy' - hate that!!! I too am all for slowing down, I have one child at primary school and one at high school, they have both dabbled with dancing and netball but now neither do any activities out of school....they don't feel the need, nor do I. We cook and eat together, have no tv evenings where we just sit at the kitchen table after dinner doing homework or just reading. Sometimes they just want to draw or sew or have a long bubble bath. I don't get that people are so deterred when I mention my kids don't do 'activities'. They are so busy at school, they have sanctuary at home. I love that. I don't like to live by lists, I make notes of important activities on a calendar, but I tend to rely on memory and rarely forget anything, I do write shopping and packing lists for camping trips and holidays but thats about it. :)

    ps. Where do you get tinned cherry tomatoes from? Thanks xx

    ReplyDelete

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